The Nara forest
by Rose-Aki
Summary: After Shikamaru finds out that Temari can't swim he offers to teach her. The lake in the Nara forest provides the perfect training ground, but which feelings might be revealed along the way? Shikamaru/Temari


A/N: Enjoy :)

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It was a sunny day and a group of young shinobi had decided to go swimming on the outskirts of Konoha. The other girls had talked Temari into going with them, so the Suna kunoichi found herself relaxing on the grass besides the lake. Looking at Naruto, Lee and Kiba who were playing with a ball in the water to the girls who were just laying next to her talking she had to smile. Konoha had become a second home to her and as her role as ambassador she was glad that she could spend so much time here.

Shikamaru, who arrived a little later at the lake with Choji, looked around and immediately his eyes found Temari who was talking to the girls. More often than not these days Shikamaru found himself thinking about her and slowly he began to realize that this troublesome woman was starting to mean more to him. Laying down next to her a moment later, he came just in time to hear Temari refuse to go swimming with the other girls. There was nothing wrong with this, but the small look of fear in her eyes didn't go unnoticed by him. Later when he brought her home and they reached her temporary apartment in Konoha he couldn't help but ask her about it.

"You didn't go into the water at all today." He told her in a bored tone.

"I didn't feel like it. So what?" That her temper was flaring up so fast made Shikamaru even more curious about the matter. Thinking about the fact that she was from Suna a sudden realization struck him.

"You can't swim." It was more a statement than a question.

"You assume that, just because I didn't go into the water today? I'm sure you have seen me walk over it before."

"That's different. Only because you can concentrate enough chakra to do that doesn't mean that you can swim."

Silently Temari cursed his IQ over 200. Why did he have to be a genius and find her secret out so easily? There was no way he would let that drop and Temari felt her anger rise.

"Alright, I can't swim. In Suna we have hardly enough water as it is, so I just never learned it. Are you happy now?" After practically screaming that at Shikamaru, Temari turned around to enter her temporary apartment in Konoha, but stopped in her tracks when he spoke up.

"I can teach you." It was a simple offer, but it still surprised Temari. For someone as lazy as Shikamaru to offer this, when he surely knew how bad her temper could get when something didn't work out the way she wanted it to, was huge. However he always surprised her in one way or another, be it with his strategically plans or his loyalty to his friends.

"You would be willing to?" Temari found herself asking almost timidly. This was the first time she had told someone that she couldn't swim. She was embarrassed that she seemed to be the only one that couldn't swim in their group of friends, especially considering that she was oldest. Sure, she could concentrate her chakra in her feet so she could walk on any surface, but swimming was never something that was required for her work as a shinobi in Suna.

"I wouldn't have offered it otherwise." Shikamaru almost rolled his eyes, but when he saw the embarrassed look on Temari's face his eyes softened. Most of the time the troublesome woman in front of him was bossy, but now she showed her softer side to him and Shikamaru couldn't help but think back to his father's words. Maybe his father had been right all those years ago and just maybe Nara men needed a strong woman. There was only one way to find out and it would help Temari with her problem as well. "We can train in the small lake in the Nara forest. No one will see you there."

After thinking about the offer for another moment Temari finally nodded and they agreed that Shikamaru would pick her up tomorrow around noon. Sighing the kunoichi closed her apartment door behind her after she had said goodbye to the lazy shinobi. She was still unsure about her decision, on one hand it would be good if she would finally learn to swim, but on the other hand she would have to spend even more time with Shikamaru. It wasn't that she didn't like spending so much time with him, quite the opposite, but that was also the problem.

Over the years they had known each other he had become her best friend, but lately she felt more for him. She wasn't a girl who fell in love easily, for a matter of fact this was the first time she was in love with anyone. Somehow the lazy shinobi with his overactive mind and loyalty when it came to his friends had managed to win her heart. However she wasn't about to tell him that. Shikamaru thought that all women were troublesome and especially she was in his opinion, he had told her that often enough, so that he had feelings for her was unlikely. Temari had successfully hid her feelings from him for a while now, but she wasn't sure if she would be able to keep it up, if they were so close to each other for a whole day. Sighing Temari let herself fall on the small couch in her apartment, tomorrow would be a long day.

The next day Shikamaru picked her up and they both made their way to the Nara forest. As soon as they had entered the forest, Temari felt like she was being watched. Shikamaru had mentioned before that a lot of the deer that his clan took care of lived here, but it couldn't be that the animals were really watching her, right? Still feeling uneasy she spoke up after a while.

"Are you sure that it's alright for me to be here?"

"Of course, I'm a Nara after all aren't I. Now stop complaining we're almost there troublesome woman."

Temari wanted to retort, because how could he just assume that she was welcome here, she wasn't a Nara after all, but then she saw where Shikamaru had lead them. In front of them was a beautiful little lake surrounded by trees which let only a little bit of sunlight through, giving the place an intimate setting. For a moment Temari was speechless and her heart beat faster. If she didn't know any better she would think that Shikamaru brought her here because it was quite romantic. Shaking her head she tried to focus back on the situation. Shikamaru only brought her here so no one would find her secret out while he would teach her how to swim, after all Temari was sure the lazy shinobi didn't feel that way about her. Looking over at him she saw him approach the herd of deer that were standing around the lake. One deer stood in the center of the group, it was a little bigger than the others and it hold its head a little higher in a proud manner. It was exactly this deer that Shikamaru approached and Temari guessed that this was the leader of the herd that lived here. She could only watch in fascination how Shikamaru feed the deer with what she assumed was deer food. The animal took it without hesitation and after it had eaten everything it nuzzled Shikamaru who pet it with a soft smile. It almost seemed to Temari like those two had a small conversation and she could only watch it in wonder. However she was pulled out of her trance when Shikamaru spoke up.

"Come here." He gestured for her to come over and cautiously Temari approached them. She wasn't afraid, she was a fearless Suna kunoichi after all, but something about this moment felt important. "This is the leader of our deer." Giving Temari a little bit of the food he gestured for her to feed it.

Carefully Temari held her hand out to the deer and waited for its reaction. Other than with Shikamaru the deer didn't immediately took the offered food, but just looked at her. Temari straightened up at the watchful eyes of the deer, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being judged. The deep brown of the deer's eyes reminded Temari a little bit of Shikamaru's eyes, they had an intelligent look in them and were still so gentle. It felt like a small eternity to Temari before the deer finally took a step closer to her and lowered its head to her hand.

Shikamaru watched closely how the deer finally ate the food in Temari's hands. The Nara deer were quite critically of the people that were allowed into their forest and so far only members of the Yamanaka and Akimichi clan had been able to come here without getting chased off by the animals. Shikamaru was sure that Temari didn't know what it meant that the leader of the deer had accepted her, but for him it was just another confirmation that this troublesome woman was the right one for him. When the deer even nuzzled the kunoichi and let her pet him, Shikamaru had to smile. It seemed like the deer approved of his choice.

The moment she pet the deer Temari felt her nervousness leave. She couldn't help but think that she had been let into something that only a few people were allowed to witness and something about this experience made her feel so much closer to Shikamaru. Maybe she just wanted to believe this because of her feelings for him, but something told her that if Shikamaru was willing to let her so close to the clan deer, that just maybe there was a chance that her feelings weren't unrequited after all.

"We should start." Shikamaru's voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

Temari tried to focus back on the reason they were even here. Shikamaru wanted to teach her how to swim, that was why she was here. The Nara forest held something special and for a moment she had totally forgotten about everything. Finally nodding she stepped away from the deer and was surprised to see that the herd left. It was almost like they were giving them privacy. Shaking her head Temari tried to clear her thoughts, now she was really interpreting too much into it. It was time to focus on her training.

Seeing that Shikamaru was already pulling off his vest, she began opening her kimono. She wore the same bikini underneath that she had worn yesterday, but with only Shikamaru around she felt a little more self-conscious. Ino had picked the bikini out when the girls had been shopping together, insisting that the white accentuated her skin, but now she felt rather exposed. Never before had she really cared if someone thought she was good looking. Her clothes were designed to be practical in a fight and nothing else and until now that had been the only thing that had mattered to her, now however she found herself wondering what Shikamaru thought about her. Cursing herself for being so insecure she quickly pulled of her kimono and shoes and stepped closer to the lake, only to realize that Shikamaru was already in the water. It seemed like the water was shallow, but Temari still felt herself hesitant.

"You can stand here." Shikamaru said, clearly having seen her hesitation. He hold out a hand for her to take and Temari suppressed the urge to concentrate chakra into her feet so she wouldn't sink into the water. After taking a deep breath she took his hand and joined him in the water. Despite that it only reached her shoulders Temari felt herself panic. This was new territory for her and she felt rather exposed.

"Do you trust me?" Shikamaru asked when he saw the look on her face.

"With my life." There wasn't even a moment of hesitation. If Temari trusted someone as much as she trusted her brothers it was Shikamaru, so there was no doubt in her voice. Trusting people had never been easy for Temari, but with Shikamaru it was different. They had come to each others help multiple times and they had saved each others lives at one point or another, so she trusted him completely.

"I want you to become a feeling for being in the water. Just lay in the water and I'll make sure you won't sink under the surface."

After he had said that Shikamaru saw the look in her eyes and he knew what it meant. He knew how it was to feel helpless, he had experienced that with Asuma and with his father. All the more he was thankful that Temari trusted him so much in a situation that she felt helpless in. Shikamaru gave Temari all the time she needed, but then as soon as Shikamaru lay a hand on her back to make sure she wouldn't drown she finally let herself float in the water . It was the closest they had ever been to each other and Shikamaru found his heart beating faster. Not only was the woman in his arms troublesome but she was unbelievably beautiful as well. However before he could dwell more on it, Temari's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

"It feels kind of nice." And to her own surprise Temari really meant that. She was sure the hand on her back holding her securely over the surface and the gentle look Shikamaru was giving her had something to do with this feeling, but just floating like this felt indeed relaxing.

Shikamaru smiled lightly at her and then showed her how she had to move her legs and arms. He wasn't surprised that it didn't take long for Temari to demand that she didn't need more training and could do it on her own.

"I think I can swim to the other side of the lake now."

"Okay, I'm right next to you." Shikamaru knew that Temari would probably think that he was just talking about this situation, but it hold more meaning for him. If she would allowed him to, he would always be by her side, be it in battle or in life. Sure, it would be more than troublesome and far from the easy life he had imagined as a child, but this day had once again shown him that he wanted only her.

The whole way to the other side of the lake Temari didn't once look to her side to make sure he was still there, she trusted him to keep his word. Sure enough, when she reached the other side of the lake he was right beside her.

"I did it." She grinned at him as soon as she felt ground under her feet once again. "Now I know why Iruka always insists that you should teach more often at the academy, you aren't a half bad teacher."

"You have a troublesome way of thanking people."

"Maybe this is a better way." Temari didn't know what came over her, but her feelings for him combined with how close she felt to him after spending the day with him in the Nara forest made her take the finally step. Before she could stop herself she had closed the small gap between them and their lips met. For a second she felt Shikamaru stiffen and she thought that she had ruined everything, but then he returned the kiss.

After a few moments they pulled away and Temari found herself blushing. She hadn't given kissing him a second thought and she surely didn't regret that she had finally made that step, but she had to make sure that he felt the same way. Sure, he had kissed her back, but that could have been a reflex.

"I'm not too troublesome for you?" She asked.

"You're very troublesome, but it seems like Nara men tend to fall in love with troublesome woman." He gave her a smirk, but the look in eyes was gentle.

No more words were needed between them, so Temari kissed him again. The Nara forest would always hold a special meaning for her from now on and she was sure that this wasn't the last time Shikamaru and her would come here to swim.

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A/N: Please review and tell me what you think :)


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